Turkey and the European Union: Mixed Signals
Posted GMT 11-30-2013 18:53:40
Theme: Turkey's EU accession process is back on track, with the opening this month of the first chapter, or policy area, in more than three years, but the Islamist-rooted government continues to send out mixed signals over the country's direction.
Summary: Turkey is re-engaging with the EU in its sluggish accession process. The first chapter, or policy area, was opened on 5 November since the end of the Spanish EU presidency in June 2010. Fourteen of the 35 chapters have now been opened since October 2005, but only one has been temporarily closed. The rest of the chapters are either blocked because of French and Cypriot objections or frozen by Brussels because of Ankara's failure to implement the 2005 Ankara Protocol and open its ports and airports to Greek-Cypriot traffic and hence extend its customs union with the EU (since 1996) and recognise the Republic of Cyprus, an EU country since 2004.
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